Differences in Views of School Principals and Teachers regarding Technology Integration

Abstract

This paper studies the similarities and differences among the views of school principals and teachers regarding a mobile computer lab (MCL) initiative implemented in 1,591 public schools in Chile. It also characterizes the aspects in which their views diverge. A mixed methods study was carried out in two stages: first, a quantitative stage, where a self-administered (web-based) questionnaire was sent to the schools; and second, a qualitative stage, where a case study was conducted with three schools. The results
show a greater convergence of the teachers’ and school principals’ views regarding the contribution of ICT resources to teaching, with more divergence when it comes to the implementation process. More
specifically, these differences were related to two points: (1) how appropriate the conditions were for using and learning how to use the new resources within the context of the school, and (2) who should be held
accountable for integrating ICT resources within the school organization. Furthermore, the qualitative results revealed that school principals only had vague information on the pedagogical integration of the MCLs in their schools. These findings suggest that in order to have more effective technology integration processes in schools, a closer presence of school leaders in the teachers’ everyday pedagogical activities is required.